Something I hadn't noticed earlier is that 101 is actually the first of the purely numerical entries.

Yeah, I own the next book in the series (Treason at Helm's Deep), and it's the same. Seems to be a feature of this series. Also that book seems to have a lot of filler sections that are impossible to get to (most of those consist of purely one sentence followed by "THE END"). Not sure if this one is like that, though. So yeah, I suspect the books in this series are shorter than they seem.

So, the options....since there's no choice to just keep quiet and observe, I guess "calling out" is the next best option.

Call out to the hooded guy. I doubt he's a Ringwraith._________________-The Reverend Sir Professor Darth Rabbitt

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OgreBattle wrote:

The Den is about the equivalent of an S&M fetish. The Den's favorite way of jerking it is to have hurr durr arguments that run on for dozens of pages. Some of it raise interesting points, but most of it is just slinging cum on the walls. Like strangulation to get an erection, being a huge [EDITED] gets you off even stronger. Occasionally Frank struts out in intimidating 12" stiletto thigh highs, a thick, fearsome whip (which is a situational weapon choice, by the way) taut in his firm grip, and you put on your gimp suits, anticipating the lashing of his sharp tongue with a perverse quiver.

FrankTrollman wrote:

Victorian Racism is like level 2 evolved racism. You have to get your racism up to a certain level and then trade it while holding a dark stone to get your racism to turn into Victorian Racism.

You hail the dark hooded person, and for a moment he stands absolutely still; as if he either does not hear you or is undecided whether or not to reply. Then, as you approach, he pulls his hood back with a long-fingered hand. It is an Elf! He smiles at you, his face and hands radiant in the moonlight.

"Are you the Elf from Lorien sent by the Lady?"

"I am indeed," he answers. "I assume you are Saruman's former apprentice?"

You nod in reply. "Yes, I am the apprentice, and I have much to tell – Saruman is a traitor to the White Council!"

"It is just as the Lady suspected – but what you can tell her will be of great value in helping her to combat Saruman's tricks. I will escort you out if this cursed vale and to Lorien. Let us flee before the Orc patrols catch us – they are swarming over the entire valley like angry hornets." Without waiting for a reply, he turns and leaves the building. You follow with considerably less grace, and hurry after him, heading east.

The two of you are but a hundred paces from the house, though, when a harsh cry goes up behind. You turn to see three Goblins racing towards you. The Elf draws his knife.

"I doubt we can outrun them here in the open; we will have to fight!" Take an action:

• If you successfully run away, turn to 198.
• If you help the Elf fight the Orcs, turn to 213.

We don't want to leave the messenger behind, so let's help him out._________________-The Reverend Sir Professor Darth Rabbitt

Click here to see the hidden message (It might contain spoilers)

OgreBattle wrote:

The Den is about the equivalent of an S&M fetish. The Den's favorite way of jerking it is to have hurr durr arguments that run on for dozens of pages. Some of it raise interesting points, but most of it is just slinging cum on the walls. Like strangulation to get an erection, being a huge [EDITED] gets you off even stronger. Occasionally Frank struts out in intimidating 12" stiletto thigh highs, a thick, fearsome whip (which is a situational weapon choice, by the way) taut in his firm grip, and you put on your gimp suits, anticipating the lashing of his sharp tongue with a perverse quiver.

FrankTrollman wrote:

Victorian Racism is like level 2 evolved racism. You have to get your racism up to a certain level and then trade it while holding a dark stone to get your racism to turn into Victorian Racism.

Together you stand and face the three Orcs. The Elf charges the leader, leaving you to fend off the other two:

(ORC #1 OB: 1, DB: 0, EP: 13)
(ORC #2 OB: 0, DB: 1, EP: 13)

• If you defeat one Orc (choose which you would rather fight), turn to 412.
• If an Orc defeats you, turn to 153.

Something we haven't seen before is just how crap the orcs are in this book. OB or DB 0 is one point of skill and a stat penalty, and a number of enemies are presented with similar numbers even if armed and armored in such a way as to be due further positive modifiers.

Anyway, while the orcs are low-grade opposition all round, we're a serious padded sumo because we have a mithril shirt and our bare hands. The big question is: do we use our fire ring here? And I guess the small question is, which Orc do we take on?

The Den is about the equivalent of an S&M fetish. The Den's favorite way of jerking it is to have hurr durr arguments that run on for dozens of pages. Some of it raise interesting points, but most of it is just slinging cum on the walls. Like strangulation to get an erection, being a huge [EDITED] gets you off even stronger. Occasionally Frank struts out in intimidating 12" stiletto thigh highs, a thick, fearsome whip (which is a situational weapon choice, by the way) taut in his firm grip, and you put on your gimp suits, anticipating the lashing of his sharp tongue with a perverse quiver.

FrankTrollman wrote:

Victorian Racism is like level 2 evolved racism. You have to get your racism up to a certain level and then trade it while holding a dark stone to get your racism to turn into Victorian Racism.

I think we should burn the one with higher DB, since we might just have a little more problem trying to damage it with our bare hands after. The one with higher OB isn't as big of a worry thanks to our armour.

The Den is about the equivalent of an S&M fetish. The Den's favorite way of jerking it is to have hurr durr arguments that run on for dozens of pages. Some of it raise interesting points, but most of it is just slinging cum on the walls. Like strangulation to get an erection, being a huge [EDITED] gets you off even stronger. Occasionally Frank struts out in intimidating 12" stiletto thigh highs, a thick, fearsome whip (which is a situational weapon choice, by the way) taut in his firm grip, and you put on your gimp suits, anticipating the lashing of his sharp tongue with a perverse quiver.

FrankTrollman wrote:

Victorian Racism is like level 2 evolved racism. You have to get your racism up to a certain level and then trade it while holding a dark stone to get your racism to turn into Victorian Racism.

The damage roll for the fire ring is only 5, plus 2x our Magical bonus of 3 is 11 total; not quite enough to drop Orc #2.

Because we're unarmed, our Melee OB of +1 drops to -1, and any damage we deal is -3. This is pretty harsh. Orc #2s DB is +1, so our net combat modifier is -2, and with the damage penalty we need to roll 10+ to do squat to him. On the other hand, his OB of 0 minus our mithril-pumped DB of 3 still gives him a reasonable chance to harm us because he has an actual weapon. But since we're at End 34 and he's at End 2, the odds are still with us.

A skillful thrust, and you finish your opponent with only a little trouble. A moment later, the Elf dispatches the last standing Orc, having made quick work of the leader.

"We must hurry before more come!" He races off again.

Without further interference, due mainly to the woodcraft – and insistent urging – of the Elf, you reach the eastern wood of the Wizard's Vale. Turn to 144.

Quote:

144 (Time: Many days, Exp Pts: 25)

Through secret paths you go; with the Elf's wood-craft, your trail is disguised, and pursuit is left far behind. By the morning you are exhausted, but far away from the Wizard's Vale – and safe Saruman.

Several days later, you arrive on the borders of the enchanted Golden Wood, realm of the Elf-Queen Galadriel where few mortal have ever passed. As Carnil leads you beneath the silver branches of the mallorn trees still laden with golfen leaves, you feel your spirits rise, and though you are weary from the journey, your steps are light and effortless here.

After walking a few miles inside the beautiful wood, Carnil stops, and suddenly two other Elves drop without warning out of the trees. Carnil seems unsurprised, however, and speaks to one of them in lilting Elven speech. Carnil turns back towards you.

"These are Guardians of Lórien; they have been observing us for some time, making sure that there was no trap before they showed themselves. We are not far from the heart of the Golden Wood, and you must be prepared before you can enter."

You are given a chance to bathe and change of your soiled clothes (the Elves provide you with a tunic of their soft grey cloth).

"At this point," Carnil says, "I must blindfold you. All mortals must be led so as we enter into the Naith of Lórien." A cloth is bound across your eyes and you are led onward for several more miles. Turn to 472.

Since there's a pretty big picture I have to grab anyway (and a lot of text), I'm going back to images for this part.

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And done! Mission about as successful as possible, really. I'll do wrap soon. Post-game questions, comments, etc. are welcome.

You can fight him, and it's possible (though very unlikely) that you can beat him; but you can't kill him. Partly because his combat mods (OB/DB 15!) make it impossible to score an insta-kill, and even an insta-KO doesn't actually knock him out, it just forces him to retreat. You do get a shit-ton of XP for it, though._________________"Now that we've determined that up to π angels can dance on the head of a pin, how do we determine the specific number (or fraction) of angels dancing?"
"What if angels from another pin engage them in melee combat?"